Tu BiShvat

Tu BiShvat is the "Jewish New Year of the Trees."

Tu BiShvat's Origins

Tu BiShvat is the "Jewish New Year of the Trees." The holiday is observed on the 15th (tu) of the Hebrew month of Shvat. Scholars believe that originally Tu BiShvat was an agricultural festival, marking the emergence of spring. In the 17th century, Kabbalists created a ritual for Tu BiShvat that is similar to a Passover sederSederסֵדֶר"Order;" ritual dinner that includes the retelling of the story of the Israelite's Exodus from Egypt; plural: s'darim.. Today, many Jews hold a modern version of the Tu BiShvat seder each year. The holiday also has become a tree-planting festival in Israel, in which Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees in honor or in memory of loved ones and friends.

When is Tu BiShvat?

In 2026, Tu BiShvat starts on Sunday February 1st. Upcoming Tu BiShvat dates include:

  • 2026, -
  • 2027, -
  • 2028, -
  • 2029, -

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Family Activities

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Recipes

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Videos

BimBam video about Tu BiShvat screen shot

Tu BiShvat Tale: Honi Comes Full Circle for the Jewish Birthday of the Trees

Straight from the Talmud (the many-volume encyclopedia of Jewish law and discussions about it), Bim Bam brings you...Honi the Circle Maker! Watch this and other engaging videos about Tu BiShvat.

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What's New

“Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children”

The upcoming holiday of Tu BiShvat -- the birthday of the trees - brings back a memory of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In the museum is an enormous cross-section of a giant sequoia tree. Standing before it is a sublime experience. The cross-section overwhelms you with its sheer size, inspiring questions about the size of the tree it was cut from.

On this Tu Bishvat and MLK Day, Address Environmental Injustice

This year, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Tu Bishvat (the Jewish "New Year of the Trees") both occur on January 21, 2019, and the 15 th of Shvat 5779. While many people are already familiar with the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, more severe wildfires and hurricanes
trees

New Beginnings: Tu BiSh’vat and Environmental Action

In this moment of transition, we will celebrate a different kind of new beginning: Tu BiSh’vat, the new year for trees. Tu BiSh’vat is an opportunity to celebrate the earth and to recommit ourselves, for another year, to environmental action. As humans continue to burn fossil fuels for heat and
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Brit Olam Environmental Justice

Jewish Values and the Environment

From the pressing global crisis of climate change to advocacy on clean water and food justice, we are heirs to a tradition of stewardship and partnership in the ongoing work of Creation that goes back to Genesis